Two milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose for most people. Photo via the DEA.

By Jonathan Sperling

A Long Island man who used his teenage brother to distribute fentanyl throughout parts of Suffolk County was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on Friday.

Jamal Brown, 26, was in possession of and sold more than 40 grams of fentanyl, along with quantities of cocaine, in Bay Shore and Huntington Station between July 2018 and February 2018, according to court filings. Brown stored the drugs throughout locations in Bay Shore and Huntington Station.

“Brown preyed on vulnerable addicts to enrich himself, exposing them to significant risk of overdose with fentanyl, a drug that is a leading factor in the opioid crisis plaguing Long Island and the United States,” stated United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue. “To facilitate his illegal drug distribution, Brown even involved his teenage brother.”

As part of Brown’s drug-trafficking scheme, he used his 17-year-old brother to sell fentanyl and cocaine for him and store the proceeds, which he later gave to Brown. Thanks to a wiretap on Brown’s phone, investigators also discovered that Brown was using an unidentified individual — who had told Brown of his struggles with addiction and of his plan to enter a rehabilitation facility — to transport the drugs and pick up proceeds from the sales.

Brown’s drug scheme was unraveled on Feb. 27, 2018, after search warrants executed at Brown’s Long Island drug locations resulted in the recovery of more than 76 grams of fentanyl, more than 150 grams of cocaine, a .32 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, ammunition and other evidence of drug trafficking, according to court filings. Brown’s newborn child was also found inside the Huntington Station location where approximately 10 grams of fentanyl were recovered.

“Drug trafficking is inevitably linked to corruption, crime and addiction,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan. “Jamal Brown turned his younger brother into a drug dealer, exposed his newborn child to fentanyl and encouraged drug use by addicts seeking treatment.”